Snakedance

Though she can’t remember any of the details, Tegan has been having bad dreams. Her worst fears are seemingly confirmed after the TARDIS arrives on the planet Manussa, birthplace of the Mara. It would seem that the Mara, which got into Tegan’s head back on the Kinda home world, is still very much alive. As the people of Manussa prepare for a festival commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Mara’s banishment, the Mara plots its return. Snakedance is a fairly average story. The cast is great, but the costumes and sets are all a little too goofy. The plot is boilerplate Doctor Who. Everyone running around, getting locked up, escaping, etc. And, while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it doesn’t do anything to elevate this particular story.

Rating: You look different%

The Great Land of Small

aka C'est pas parce qu'on est petit qu'on peut pas être grand!

Fritz, a mystical being from the Great Land of Small, travels to the human realm with a bag of magic gold dust to test the intentions of men. Are they capable of goodness or will they use the gold dust to amass power? After losing his bag of gold dust to a cold-hearted hunter, Fritz teams up with Jenny and David, two young children who want nothing more than to help Fritz get his gold dust back and return home to the Great Land of Small. Something like a mashup of E.T. and The Neverending Story, but with a fraction of their budgets, The Great Land of Small is another Canadian kids movie from the same people who brought you The Dog Who Stopped the War and The Peanut Butter Solution. While not as iconic or traumatic as those other films, The Great Land of Small is a distinctly odd movie that mixes family friendly whimsy with questionable decision making. If for no other reason, I would definitely recommend watching this movie so that you too can witness the glory that is Slime-O.

Rating: 59%

(Image from IMDB)

Missing in Action

Colonel James Braddock, still haunted by his time in a Vietnamese P.O.W. camp, reluctantly agrees to return to Vietnam with a government liaison, hoping to find other American soldiers who are still missing in action. After discovering the location of a camp still holding American soldiers prisoner, Braddock leads an all-out assault in an effort to bring his fellow soldiers home. Missing in Action, Cannon’s attempt to cash in on the Rambo franchise, is a decent movie for what it is. Slightly too long with a sluggish pace, Missing in Action saves most of the excitement for the third act, which goes balls to the wall with explosions and high speed raft chases. M. Emmet Walsh lends a bit of levity to the proceedings, playing Braddock’s old army buddy Jack “Tuck” Tucker. And Chuck Norris delivers exactly the type of performance you would expect from him, no more, no less.

Rating: 60%

(Image from Wikipedia)

Arc of Infinity

A renegade Time Lord transmits a copy of the Doctor’s biodata extract to a mysterious being in another dimension. That being, the lost Time Lord Omega, not seen since The Three Doctors, attempts to bond with the Doctor in order to cross over from the antimatter dimension. When the High Council finds out what’s happened, the Doctor is recalled to Gallifrey and sentenced to death, in an effort to prevent… something. Meanwhile, Tegan, who had been left behind on Earth at the end of Time-Flight, travels to Amsterdam to visit her cousin, who has mysteriously gone missing. Arc of Infinity is a decent serial that kicks off the Fifth Doctor’s second season. They never really bother to explain why Tegan had been left behind at the end of the last season and the Doctor doesn’t exactly look thrilled when she rejoins the TARDIS crew at the end of the story. Also, it’s interesting to see Colin Baker show up in this story as Commander Maxil on Gallifrey, since he’ll be taking over as the Sixth Doctor at the end of the next season.

Rating: I know what I'm doing%

Ski School 2

A few years have passed since we last saw Dave Marshak, the intrepid party animal hero of the original Ski School. Having been kicked off the mountain, Dave is living in a trailer park until he receives an invitation to his ex-girlfriend Beth’s wedding. Determined to get both Beth and his mojo back, Dave returns to the mountain to face off against Steve Longwood, Beth’s snooty fiancée. While the original Ski School isn’t, technically, a “good” movie, it has a certain charm to it. Ski School 2, however, is a pretty bland affair. In the first movie, Dave is an unflappable, infallible goofball trickster. In Ski School 2, he’s a beaten down scamp who refuses to grow up. Sadly, the magic of the original Ski School is gone and there’s no amount of nudity that can bring it back.

Rating: 52%

(Image from IMDB)